Hanging by a Moment
by celtics534
Summary: You remember some moments forever and Harry was pretty sure that this moment would be one of those. A missing HBP moment.


**TheDistantDusk and gryffindormischief were incredible to read this over for me! Both gave great suggestions and comments! For a little background: this is set during the Half-Blood Prince after Harry and Ginny start dating. It was written based on the challenge over on Sink Into Your Eyes **

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Harry lay in his bed, his mind replaying the day's memories like one of the Dursleys' television programs. It had been like this for the last two preferred his memories, to his dreams. What would make this teenager willing to give up a good night's sleep, one might ask? The answer was simple: a redheaded goddess named Ginny Weasley.

From the moment Harry had kissed her during the Quidditch victory party, Ginny had never left his mind. Sure, she had invaded his thoughts often before. The _idea_ of her. Something funny she'd said, the way she flicked her hair out of her face when a question stumped her, or the way her flowery scent had engulfed him when she walked by. But now… Now he could include feel and taste to his Ginny senses.

He could swear his lips still tingled from her goodnight kiss. And there was no way he could ignore the way the back of his neck burned after her touch. No, Harry lost more sleep over Ginny than he would ever admit (especially to Ron).

Every moment seemed precious to Harry. Never in his life could he remember feeling this way. It was as if he was in an alternate universe. A universe where he was just Harry, a boy dating a gorgeous redhead. No looming prophecy or murders. Just a normal teenager getting to do normal things, such as snog his girlfriend.

Harry rolled onto his side, punching his pillow into shape as he went. If he didn't at least try to fall asleep he would really hate himself in the morning. Sure it was Saturday, but his time with Ginny was already so limited (due to his detentions and her OWLs). He wanted to make sure he was awake for the little time they had.

A small creaking noise made Harry's eyes shoot open. Quiet footsteps... soft breathing… coming from the direction of the stairway. He waited, feigning sleep. If someone was going to be attacked…

"Harry?" The voice was faint, almost inaudible, but it was one he immediately recognized from his dreams.

"Gin?"

"Yeah." The curtains around his bed moved slowly, revealing a smiling Ginny. She leaned over and kissed him lightly. "How's it going?"

"Uh…" Harry's mind couldn't process what was happening. Ginny was here… in his dorm… well past curfew… her brother sleeping in the bed right next to him.

Ginny pressed another kiss to his lips before, whispering, "Pull on a jumper and meet me down in the common room. Bring the cloak."

Then she was gone as if she somehow had the power to apparate on Hogwarts grounds.

"What?" Harry murmured, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

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"And I thought it took girls a long time to get ready," Ginny teased as Harry stepped down the last stair from the dorms.

Harry snorted. "Well, it does take a couple of seconds to comprehend your girlfriend (the word still sent butterflies to his stomach) waking you well past midnight."

She sent him a smirk that increased the fluttering wings in his gut tenfold. "Most people would appreciate such a romantic wake up call."

"Oh, trust me." He moved in close, his hand tentatively brushing a piece of hair out of her face. "I thoroughly enjoyed my new alarm, but I tend to prefer knowing why I've been woken up."

"Ah." Ginny tapped the tip of his nose. "Trust me, you'll be glad I woke you." She gestured to two brooms (one of which was his own Firebolt) leaning against the back of the sofa. "We're going for a midnight fly."

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Harry stared up at the sky without truly seeing. Between the feel of the soft grass on his back and the sight of millions of stars, he could never remember feeling so content. Having Ginny's hand intertwined with his didn't hurt, either.

They had snuck down to the Quidditch pitch, using the cloak as an extra precaution (not that Harry minded having his hands on Ginny's hips as they walked close together). It only took them a few moments to arrive at the dew cover field. They had flown for well over an hour, by Harry's estimate. They'd raced from one side to the other (the winner presenting the loser with a commiseration kiss), then they'd taken turns with his Firebolt, and finally, they'd shared a slow glide on the aforementioned broom (Ginny had steered them as Harry held onto her waist). He hadn't needed convincing to give up controls if it meant keeping Ginny close.

It had been Ginny who suggested drying a patch of grass and resting for a bit before heading back to their beds. Harry had been more than happy to follow her suggestion.

"Harry?" Ginny was the first to break their quiet serenity. "Tell me something."

Harry tore his gaze from the night sky to look at Ginny. The three-quarter moon illuminated her in a perfect glow, a look Harry would've assumed that only angels should be allowed to have. She was looking at him, her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Tell you what?"

Ginny shifted. "Anything. I want to know you, Harry." He was about to protest, but she spoke again before he could say anything. "I know you, but I want to _really _know you."

Her gaze held his, a look that he couldn't quite place evident in her brown eyes.

"Okay," Harry spoke slowly, trying to think of what to say. "What - er -"

Ginny twisted entirely, now laying on her side. "What do you want to do after Hogwarts?"

In spite of the warmth of his jumper, Harry shivered; his mind automatically repeated "neither can live while the other survives."

"Uh… don't know. I never really thought about it."

Ginny gave him a skeptical look.

"Alright." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I thought about becoming an auror."

"Yeah, I could see that." Ginny leaned forward, a sly smirk on her lips. "I can also imagine you in those auror robes." She fanned herself. "_Muy caliente!"_

Harry's cheeks warmed in the cool night air. _Flirting_. Something he was piss poor at, but Ginny didn't seem to care. Really, she had enough wit for the both of them in that department.

Ginny laughed, clearly able to see his darkened complexion even with the milky sky being the only source of light. She closed the small space between them and pressed her lips to his. "Alright, Potter, your turn."

"My turn?" Even though the kiss was brief (and by all considerations chaste), it still made his head spin.

"You ask me a question. Nothing off the table." She smirked. "Do your worst, Potter."

Harry locked eyes with her again. Neither could back down from such a blatant challenge. He needed to make it good.

"Uh…" The way she was looking at him, so confident… so beautiful. "What's something you're self-conscious about?"

Ginny's brow raised in surprise. "Huh, I didn't expect that." She ran her hand through the trimmed grass, her eyebrows now scrunched together in thought. Harry couldn't stop himself from watching her fingers slowly thread through the dark blades. The way those hands had been wrapped around his neck earlier… threaded through his hair.

"I'd say my freckles." Ginny's voice broke Harry out his trance.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean." That confident look from earlier had vanished, replaced with a look of uncharacteristic shyness. "They aren't the most appealing thing, now are they? Most people like skin like Phlegm..."

"I like your freckles." Harry blurted.

Ginny gave him a curious look. "Really?"

"Yeah- I - I mean." And now he was tongue tied… _super_. He took a deep breath. "I think your freckles look cute."

The smile that broke onto Ginny's face made Harry know he said the right thing. "My turn, then." She rubbed her chin as if giving deep thought to her question. "When did you start to fancy me?"

This was a topic Harry hadn't wanted to breach. He had no desire to tell her about that monster she seemed to create.

"Uh- you know."

"No, I don't think I do." That smile from earlier became wicked.

Harry sighed. He stood, offering Ginny a hand. She accepted it with a quirked brow. "I need to walk a bit." He kept his hand in hers as they headed towards the entrance tunnel.

"If I had to put a day on it…" He thought about it for a moment. "I'd guess during the summer holidays."

Harry kept his gaze in front of him. He figured an egg would fry on his face. "Seriously?" Ginny sounded stunned.

"Yeah." He shrugged with one shoulder, their footsteps now echoing in the dark corridor. In for a penny, in for a pound. "I didn't realize it though until I saw you and Dean." Even the mere mention of the incident in that passage made the beast in Harry's chest growl.

"That's what I thought you were going to say." She stopped their progress, tugging on his hand until he faced her. Harry could barely see anything aside from the outline of Ginny's profile. "The way you looked at me the next day... "

"I was trying to figure it out. I was confused. On one hand, I was supposed to see you as my best mate's sister, but then on the other, I _really_ wanted to be the one behind that tapestry."

"I'd be happy to take you to any snogging spot you'd like." Ginny moved her body so it was tucked against his, Harry's back to the wall, their breaths mixing.

Harry couldn't resist leaning his head down to press his lips to hers. He moved his hands to cup her jaw. Ginny, for her part, let her fingers get tangled up in his perpetually messy locks. He was about to glide his tongue over her bottom lip when she pulled away.

Ginny's breath came out in a deep sigh. The creature within him moaned rather pitifully at the loss of contact. "These are pointless right now," she murmured as she took off his glasses and folded them into her robe's pocket.

It was a simple thing, something that benefited both of them, but Harry found it somehow just as intimate as her hands in his hair. Then Ginny's lips were on his skin again. Across his cheeks, up his jawline, down to the pulse point on his neck.

"_Merlin._" Harry could barely breathe. His hands moved on their own accord, trying to find any bare skin they could locate. Her robes present a challenge for his wandering extremities, but eventually, Harry's fingertips touched an area around her hips where her shirt rode up.

Ginny hummed in approval as she trailed her mouth back to his. Harry's mind couldn't keep up, but he knew he never wanted it to stop.

Of course, that wasn't possible. Stupid oxygen!

Ginny pulled away, her breath coming in gasps. "Well, this beats that corridor anyday."

Harry couldn't speak. It was as Ginny had taken his tongue with her when she stopped kissing him.

Though he knew Ginny couldn't see his dazed expression, she seemed to know what he was thinking (or was aware of his utter lack of thought). She took his hand and guided them towards the staircase that led up to the Gryffindor fan stands.

They took seats halfway to the top (a height where no one would notice them unless they looked at the stands from the middle of the field).

Ginny guided Harry onto one of the benches so he straddled the seat. She mimicked his posture before speaking. "It's your turn."

"What? Oh! Yeah." In all honesty, Harry had forgotten all about their little game while her lips had moved across his. "Uh… What's a skill you wish you had?"

"Oh, good one!" Ginny beamed. Her thumb rubbed across his as she thought. "I wish I had my mother's cooking abilities. I can't seem to do anything in the kitchen, except burn things."

"Really? I've always been pretty good at cooking."

"Harry Potter the future chef?" Ginny laughed.

"If becoming an auror doesn't pan out."

"You would look adorable in a little chef's hat." Every time she kissed him, no matter how chaste, Harry could swear his IQ dropped five points. This time was no exception. "So, I have to ask the question everyone female at Hogwarts wants to know. How romantic is Harry Potter? What would be your ideal date?"

Harry didn't know where the question had come from, but he figured what they were doing right now was damn good. "Doing anything with you seems perfect."

"Well." Ginny gave him an appraising look. "I would say Harry Potter is a hopeless romantic."

He shrugged, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt. "Only because it's you."

"_Merlin_." She scooted forward so she was close to him. His hopes for another kiss were crushed when she flopped her head onto his chest. _This worked too._

"So." Harry didn't really know what to ask. "Who is your favorite brother?"

"All of them." Ginny pulled her face away from his jumper. "They all are my favorite for different reasons."

Harry considered that. "Even Percy?"

"Even Percy the prat," Ginny agreed. "Now, Potter, tell me something that you're embarrassed about. The first thing you think of."

"Oh, Merlin!" Harry wanted to fall through the earth. The first thing that popped into his head… "You know all those bludger injuries I kept getting during practices?"

"Yeah."

"I kept getting hit because I couldn't take my eyes off of you."

Harry heard the sharp intake of Ginny's next breath. They were both silent until Ginny said, "Such a hopeless romantic."

He snorted. "Alright then, Weasley." He thought about his question. "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Huh." Ginny scratched her chin. "Well, Egypt was cool, but I would want to go somewhere I've never been. Maybe Spain?"

"I've heard it's beautiful there."

"Bill visited a while back. He went to a place called Tenerife." Harry didn't know if Ginny realized her fingers were playing with the hem of his jumper as she spoke, but he _sure_ knew. "The sea is such a gorgeous blue. I think I would like to go there and just relax for a time… pretend there is no war…" Her voice trailed off.

Harry kissed her lightly. "That sounds perfect."

Ginny smiled, but then her face contorted as she let out a huge yawn. "Okay final question, because I'm getting tired." She looked up towards the stars for a moment. Harry kept his eyes on her, her freckles made up their own galaxy and constellations… "What's one word to describe your first kiss?"

"What?"

Ginny looked back at him, an innocent look on her face. "What's one word to describe your first kiss?"

Oh... this was worse than telling Ron and Hermione… "Wet." He muttered.

"I'm sorry?"

"Wet," Harry spoke louder. "It wasn't… she was crying."

Ginny didn't say anything… she didn't laugh. "That's awkward."

"To say the least."

"What about your second?"

Harry looked at her. Her expression was curious. "Well…" His hand went to the back of his neck. "You should know. You were there."

Ginny locked her eyes onto his and Harry could have sworn the sounds of the night disappeared. Nothing else seemed to register except Ginny and that look she was giving him, her parted lips looking so appealing…

Harry didn't know much about love. It wasn't as if his Aunt and Uncle kissed him on the top of his head before bed saying they loved him. No, what he'd learned about love happened after the age of eleven. First, there had been Hedwig, and odd as it might sound, she was his first friend. Then Ron and Hermione had become a part of his life. And he loved them, there was no doubt in his mind about that. But that was a _friendship_ love.

But the type of love he still couldn't wrap his mind around was being _in_ love. The kind of love his parents had. Harry had watched people like Roger Davies claim to be in love with a new witch every week, and it made no sense to him. But _could _he be falling in love with Ginny? When she looked at him like that, he swore there was more than moonlight shining around her.

His head was spinning again. Yet, when he looked at her… He had no idea where to go from here.

Ginny seemed to have an idea of what to do. She rubbed a hand over his cheek, that look that seemed to set his insides on fire still present. Her lips pressed lightly to his, after what they had shared earlier, this kiss barely registered as a kiss. And, yet, it sent Harry's heart racing.

"I'd say your second kiss was bloody good. Not wet at all." Ginny pulled back, a smile on her lips.

Harry nodded, breathing deeply.

They remained there, Ginny with her hand on his cheek and their eyes locked, for a while. Harry couldn't care less about being caught, or the time. He just wanted to be there… with her.

"We best go." Ginny was the one to break their intense gridlock. She took her hand away from his face and intertwined their fingers.

Harry stood, helping Ginny to her feet. He pulled his cloak from his front pocket and tugged it over them. When they were surrounded by the silken cloth, Harry drew Ginny into his chest. "Ready to go, Gin?"

She pulled away from his chest, giving him a final smirk.

_Well, shit… There was that light again. _

She pecked at his lips quickly before leading them back towards the castle. Harry moved behind her, his hand still connected with hers. He sped up his pace, so his shoulder was brushing hers. Yeah, this moment would be better than any dream his mind could come up with.


End file.
